tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post1720389164923925085..comments2023-10-17T10:25:57.853-04:00Comments on learning my lines. . .: Shaved Heads, Goatees, And Other Misdirected Attempts At Reaching The World. . . .Walt Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502588185280592205noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-70714380171685860512010-07-20T17:04:39.065-04:002010-07-20T17:04:39.065-04:00'Seems to me that in trying to be relevant, we...'Seems to me that in trying to be relevant, we are always one step behind. We are watching the world, analyzing it and then trying to imitate it. This whole process takes a certain amount of time. And so we lag just a bit behind the culture that we are trying to imitate. In being a step behind, doesn't that make us seem irrelevant, obsolete, old?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-60192964401090410232010-07-02T13:03:48.421-04:002010-07-02T13:03:48.421-04:00I agree that relevancy has limited value, especial...I agree that relevancy has limited value, especially when it comes at the expense of our essential message to the world. However I have a son who is a different ethnicity than his family and is fetching around desperately for an ethnic group to belong to. He has found an ethnic gang as his sense of belonging. The only reason he is willing to try church with me is because he has heard of the hispanic young man with tatoos and a motorcycle who is "chill" and would like to meet him. White bread Christianity will never get him in the door. Sometimes relevancy is the key that opens the door. Then the message has a chance to be heard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-54992734664669645062010-07-02T12:58:52.163-04:002010-07-02T12:58:52.163-04:00This fall, I will be celebrating 30 years in Youth...This fall, I will be celebrating 30 years in Youth Ministry. My head is bald because I've pulled it out. My chin is bushy because that's the only place left it will grow. I'm not trying to be relevant. I'm trying to survive!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-54991553119051657772010-07-02T12:50:56.352-04:002010-07-02T12:50:56.352-04:00I understand the concern for holding true to our m...I understand the concern for holding true to our message without compromising it for the fleeting passage of current relevancy. But I have a son who is searching for his ethnic identity and has adopted an ethnic gang to find it. He will never be open to white bread Christianity. The young hispanic man in our church with the tatoos and motorcycle is the best person to mirror that there is more to Christianity than he perceives. In the Dualistic mind of a struggling teen, sometimes relevancy is the key to opening the door.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-84622177281011721102010-07-01T16:19:28.421-04:002010-07-01T16:19:28.421-04:00I thought bald heads and gotees were issued with t...I thought bald heads and gotees were issued with the youth ministry degree upon graduation from Bible college. I had no idea! ;)Tim Schmoyerhttp://www.studentministry.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-64120840278472905132010-07-01T13:12:04.963-04:002010-07-01T13:12:04.963-04:00Great post, Walt! Reminds me of a great book I re...Great post, Walt! Reminds me of a great book I read a number of years ago: "Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Contemporary Idol of Relevance" by Os Guinness - a quick and profound read.<br /><br />Bill Hodgeman<br />Associate Pastor of Youth<br />Pleasant Street Church<br />Whitinsville, MA<br />(And slightly ashamed goatee-wearer)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-66714659516779051352010-07-01T00:32:51.502-04:002010-07-01T00:32:51.502-04:00Insightful article Walt. By the way, I shave my he...Insightful article Walt. By the way, I shave my head since I would have sidewalls if I didn't (!) and I have a goatee because, heck, if I can't grow it up on the dome, then I'm growin' it on the chin! :-)Erikhttp://jcrylequotes.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-85064387639711983862010-06-30T13:05:07.447-04:002010-06-30T13:05:07.447-04:00One more thing Walt, I read everything you post on...One more thing Walt, I read everything you post on your blog! Like I've said in the past to you, though we have never met face to face, know that you have an ally and brother in me. <br /><br />Robin<br />rdugall@apu.eduRobin Dugallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09754636182278169292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-62092434679081906672010-06-30T12:27:01.879-04:002010-06-30T12:27:01.879-04:00VERY interesting post. I am reading a book ("...VERY interesting post. I am reading a book ("The Gathering") now about the <a href="http://raybarnettbooks.com/" rel="nofollow"> church,</a> as an institution, and hierarchy and how that seems to be so ineffective and genuinely impact our lives and connect to us. For those people who are starved for a true sense of Christian community and desperate for a church that is relevant (I know you don't like the word but here it is!) to their lives, this book gives them/you hope. It uses Scripture to show the way to recover the church's roots and to again become an effective community of people who are bound together by their love of Christ and each other. Are the big institutions, the big-business churches connected, even remotely with what God has shown us in his word about the local church? This book says no, and goes back to the basics and to the local church. It explores many issues of identity, function and purpose related to being the people of God. <br /><br />Here's something from the intro -- in which the whole idea that the "church" can get in the way."<br />In a Bible study meeting, my wife and I had asked each person in turn what they would identify as the most fruitful time of spiritual growth in their lives. Where were they; what were they doing; who might have been involved? I will never forget the answer given by one young woman. She had come from an emotionally disturbed background, but was now a maturing believer of some years. She had found love and acceptance in Christ, and was rising above her past.<br />A “rough diamond”, her answer was remarkable. “The time of major growth for me was when I said, ‘Bugger the church.’ I moved to a beach with my husband and it was just me and God without a church in between.”<br /><br />Very interesting stuff. I think you'd find it thought-provoking.Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12553309379795237911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1735040292604331611.post-14480827748959235472010-06-30T12:17:40.832-04:002010-06-30T12:17:40.832-04:00outrageously excellent post! I went to the articl...outrageously excellent post! I went to the article directly, printed it out and will pray, think, meditate upon it. I couldn't agree more...I like the way you stated it - there is a difference between being relevant and informed...one boarders on being a sell out...the other gives us a prophetic stance that is more faithful to the life of Jesus in us...trust me Walt, this is an extremely important post...fact is, I'm going to write on my two blogs on it now and refer to you and your insights!<br /><br />In Jesus,<br />Dr. Robin Dugall<br />Adjunct Prof in Biblical STudies - APU <br />Project Director - Faith Communities Project<br />rdugall@apu.eduRobin Dugallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09754636182278169292noreply@blogger.com